Bandhu Ishanand Vempeny, S. J.
B. The Physiological Consideration
Recently I asked a man in his late sixties how he was. His answer was the following: “For a man in his late sixties, I am really well. Have you seen anywhere a pump functioning for sixty-five years without wear and tear and without repair work? Is there anything surprising that in my body there are a number of air-pumps, liquid-pumps and solid-pumps, all of which are clamouring for repairs? Do you know how many kilometers of piping system are there in my body? Without any repair work for more than six decades the sewage system in my body has been going on with minor complaints. I cannot have the option of the man who imported two German cars, one for his use and the other for spare-parts for replacing the damaged parts of the car in use. May I stop here? This is the reality of the well-being of this old man who is very proud of being old and yet do not like to be unrealistic.”
It is not fully right to compare the human body with an aging car or, a dilapidated building. But in many respects they bear comparison. There is no point for an old man dyeing his hair with black paint, walking about briskly and upright in youthful dress. We have to accept the truth of the growing weakness and dysfunctionality of our body. But human body is not like an aging machine. The mind has great control of our body and its welfare. But it also must be stated that the body too has certain control over our mind. Mens sana in corpore sano (=A healthy mind in a healthy body).
Let us have a look at some research findings reported in the
March issue of the American Journal of
Psychiatry, headed by Dr. Nora Volkow. The article states: “This is the
first study to look at the significance – both for motor function and cognitive
function – of the normal changes in brain chemistry that occur in healthy
people as we age… And while we don’t know for certain what might be able to
prevent these changes and slow these universal effects of aging, we think it
should be possible… Previous studies had shown that the number of dopamine
receptors in the brain decreases with age, and that the symptoms of Parkinson’s
disease are caused by dopamine problems. But none had ever looked at the
physical and mental result of that decrease in healthy people.”[i]
Here I feel quite at home with the Jungian comparison of the journey of the sun with the human journey. William Sequeira comments on such imagery: “The sun once it rises in the morning climbs higher and higher in the sky trying to penetrate every nook and corner of this earth giving its light. But once it is noon the sun reaches its zenith beyond which it cannot climb… His ‘up’ moments are over, now its ‘down’ moments begin, its descent… The morning of one’s life is marked by achievement, name and fame. The noon for a person is when he or she reaches the mid-point of his or her life… The afternoon and evening of one’s life are marked by signs of certain social withdrawal and fatigue. It is a period of interiority and self discovery.”[ii]
In depicting human life-journey, I am equally at home with the metaphor of the ascending staircases of a building connected with the descending ones on the opposite direction. Shankaracharya chides an old Sanskrit Pandit through the well-known poem Bhaja Govindam, for spending his old age wrestling with the rules of Panini’s Grammar without giving any thought to God (Lord Govinda). To offer a glimpse into its beauty and depth, I shall cite its first verse:
Angam galitam palitam mundam
Dashanavihinam jatum tundam
Vruddho jatu gruhutva dandam
Tadapi munchayati asha
pindam
Bhajagovindam bhajagovindam
Govindam bhaja mudhamate
(Paraphrase:
Your limbs are decaying, your head has become bald, your gums in the mouth are
teethless, yet you go about with a stick in your hand without, however, getting
rid of your attachments. Oh Foolish man, worship Sri Govinda, I say, spend your
time worshiping Him!).
[ii] William Sequeira SJ, “The Challenges of Golden Years,” Jivan, May-June 2008, p. 4.
ENLIGHTEENING
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